Community Foundation celebrates $70,000 in funds awarded

The Community Foundation of Butler County hosted its annual awards ceremony at Vornado Air LLC in Andover on Saturday. The theme was Be A FAN of Butler County.

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By Staff Report

Butler County Times Gazette

By Staff Report

Posted Jun. 11, 2013 at 12:00 PM

By Staff Report

Posted Jun. 11, 2013 at 12:00 PM

Andover, Kan.

The Community Foundation of Butler County hosted its annual awards ceremony at Vornado Air LLC in Andover on Saturday. The theme was Be A FAN of Butler County.

Angie Baur, associate director CKCF, reported more than $70,000 is earmarked for distribution to local charities and students seeking higher education.

“Each year as more and more donors entrust us with managing their funds, the more fun we have assisting in the process of distributing awards to local causes, for local people,” said Baur. “We couldn’t do it without, not only our donors but also the volunteers that serve on the local advisory boards and those serving as volunteers on our numerous selection committees.”

“I’ve seen first-hand the impact we make in lives of the recipients - the students and charities alike are appreciative of these community gifts and use them wisely,” said Chancy Gerbitz, chair of the BCCF advisory board,

Gerbitz is not only the chair of the advisory board but she is the sister to the namesake of a fund, the Chelsea Gerbitz Memorial Scholarship, which was established to memorialize her late sister. She knows both sides of the coin and is committed to seeing the foundation expand.

Gerbitz and others in 2012 saw a new direction in establishing even more localized community foundations within Butler County. Whitewater and Augusta both organized in 2012 and have already begun to see the benefits of how a local connection to philanthropy has sparked new interests for their residents and their communities at large.

The Be A Fan of Butler County Celebration included gifts made to and through our affiliates as well as the all encompassing Butler County awards.

The competitive grant cycle open to qualifying 501 (c) (3) organizations and other qualifying entities is for general grant categories that include: Arts and Culture; Community Preservation and Revitalization; Health and Human Services; and Animal Welfare.

The foundation also manages 13 scholarship funds for students seeking higher education. In fact, over $22,000 will be distributed for the 2013-14 academic year from the scholarships presented at the ceremony. Also to be noted are the Agency Designated and Donor Advised awards that not part of the competitive application process. Those awards to date are in excess of $38,000.